By 1794, England has been at war with revolutionary France for almost two years. Aboard the Hyperion, Richard Bolitho sets sail with an untrained crew for blockade duty off France.

Unfortunately, his superior, Commodore Mathias Pelham-Martin, is an incompetent egotist whose petty hostilities jeopardise the operation of an entire fleet. The Commodore is no match for the French admiral, Lequiller, whose powerful squadron uses guile and ruthless determination to elude him and vanish into the Atlantic. Bolitho is forced to take drastic measures in a chase across the Atlantic that tests both his mettle and his seamanship.